Shopify Plus vs Custom B2B E-Commerce in London: 3-Year Cost in 2026

The verdict in three sentences

For a brand selling both direct and to 200 to 3,000 resellers, Shopify Plus remains the fastest choice as long as your B2B rules fit its native features and a few apps. As soon as you need customer-specific catalogs, net 30 payment terms driven by ERP credit limits, negotiated online quotes and cascading discounts, the real 3-year cost matches that of custom e-commerce (Medusa or full build) at 60,000 to 150,000 EUR (about 65,000 to 162,000 USD) to build. The break-even point usually falls between year 3 and year 4, earlier if your Shopify variable fees or B2B apps exceed 2,000 EUR per month.

What Shopify Plus really costs for B2B

The Shopify Plus license starts at about 2,300 USD per month (about 2,130 EUR) on a multi-year term, and a variable component applies above a certain sales volume. The native B2B module covers company accounts, price lists, payment terms and minimum orders. But a London fashion, cosmetics or homeware brand quickly discovers the add-ons it needs: a quote app, fine-grained ERP sync (Sage X3, SAP Business One, NetSuite), catalogs restricted by distribution network, free shipping rules by country.

These amounts are 2026 orders of magnitude for a combined B2B and B2C project; card processing fees are excluded since they exist in both scenarios.

What custom B2B e-commerce costs

An open source foundation such as Medusa (Node.js, headless) provides cart, orders, price lists, customer groups and sales channels. Development focuses on what sets you apart: reseller portal, negotiated quotes, credit limits and net 30 terms, two-way ERP connection. A full build without a foundation is rarely justified below 50 million EUR of revenue.

At 3 years the two scenarios are close. The difference comes afterwards: in years 4 and 5, custom only costs hosting and maintenance, about 35,000 EUR per year, versus about 66,000 EUR per year for Shopify Plus with its apps.

B2B features: who does what in 2026

Mini case study

James, head of e-commerce at a leather goods brand in London, generates 14 million EUR (about 12 million GBP) of revenue, 60% of it with 1,100 resellers. On Shopify Plus he would pay about 229,700 EUR over 3 years, then about 66,000 EUR per year. With Medusa he invests 120,000 EUR in the build and about 35,000 EUR per year in operations, or 224,400 EUR over 3 years. The cumulative gap reaches about 67,000 EUR by the end of year 5 in favor of custom. The reseller portal also cuts order entry by sales administration by 6 hours a day, about 1,300 hours a year.

FAQ

Is Shopify Plus enough for a brand starting in B2B?

Yes, below 200 resellers and with simple pricing terms, the native B2B module is enough. Launch takes 2 to 4 months with 15,000 to 25,000 EUR of integration.

Why Medusa rather than a full custom build?

Medusa already provides cart, orders, price lists and customer groups, saving 30 to 40% of the budget. The code stays open and belongs to you.

Can we migrate from Shopify Plus to custom later?

Yes, products, customers and orders can be exported. Budget 8,000 to 20,000 EUR for migration, with particular care for redirects to preserve SEO.

Is custom riskier for security and uptime?

Managed cloud hosting with CDN, backups and monitoring reaches 99.9% uptime. The related cost is included in the 300 to 1,200 EUR monthly hosting budget.

When does the break-even point come earlier?

As soon as your B2B apps exceed 2,000 EUR per month or the Shopify variable share becomes significant, the switch can pay off from year 2.

Let's scope your project. Describe your reseller network, commercial terms and ERP: we price a Shopify Plus scenario and a custom scenario, from 60,000 to 150,000 EUR, with a compared 3-year cost. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.